The creator of "OBAMA PAN DE SAL" does it again

Filipino businesswoman Wilma Fernandez Ventura holds up a tray of freshly-baked Brazo de Pacquiao, one of three new products she created to honor boxing champ Manny Pacquiao/Romeo P. Marquez, Editor, Philippine Village Voice, San Diego, California

SAN DIEGO - As Manny Pacquiao was winding down in his bout with Miguel Cotto that eventually gave him his seventh boxing title last month, Filipino baker Wilma Fernandez Ventura was hurrying to go back to her bakery, never mind that it was already late in the evening and she's pretty much exhausted from the long work hours earlier in the day.
 
She was watching on cable TV with friends and saw how Pacquiao pummeled Cotto with his powerful punches through their 12-round fight.
 
In less than 10 hours after the event, a tired but inspired Ventura whipped up at least three new bread creations she named after the boxing hero -- the latest in a string of what she calls "creative baking" that began in January with the now popular Obama Pan de Sal.
 
In many ways, Ventura's concept of creative baking has popularized a host of Filipino breads to the mainstream community. Pan de sal (which literally means bread of salt) for example, used to be a generic dinner roll in groceries and supermarkets known mostly to Filipinos.

'Obama Pan de Sal'

When Ventura created an improved variation so as to expand her market beyond the Filipino community and out there in San Diego's diverse neighborhoods, using whole wheat for the health conscious, and called it "Obama Pan de Sal", the bread took a following of its own.
 
"I had sleepless nights thinking how my humble person could mark important events like the election of Mr. Obama, the first Black president, and recently, the unprecedented victory of Manny Pacquiao, through the only way I knew -- baking special bread and naming each new creation after them," Ventura explained in an interview.
 
For her, Pacquiao was a big challenge. The boxer carries seven titles to his name, a feat none in the boxing world has accomplished.
 
His arms are strong and his fists deliver the knockout punches. Overall, the champ is a true personification of an underdog -- unpretentious, a true believer in the Almighty, not a show off.
 
"One bread to honor him sounds insufficient, especially that he has lifted Filipinos to unprecedented heights," Ventura said.

Pacquiao breads

That's when she decided to create three special breads, namely, the Brazo de Pacquiao, Siete Coronas de Pacquiao and the plain Pan de Pacquiao.
 
The foot-long Brazo de Pacquiao, says Ventura, is intended as her bakery's masculine equivalent of the famous brazo de Mercedes, and is filled with specially-formulated cream cheese. It's made from high gluten flour and looks similar to French bread.
 
Those are now part of the daily fare at Ventura's own The Original Richard's Bakery, a midsized bakeshop which has earned a reputation outside the Filipino community as an innovative trend-setter in the bakery business.
 
"This is the second time I'm honoring Manny Pacquiao. I created a drink for him, the healthy fresh fruit beverage called Pacquiao Punch, right when he knocked down Ricky Hatton early this year," said Ventura.
 
By its appearance, the Brazo de Pacquiao looks like a French bread, except that the dough is soft, similar to pan de sal. "In a sense, it tries to replicate the strong and powerful arms of Manny," explains Ventura.
 
The Siete Coronas de Pacquiao appears like pretzels shaped like a number 7 which, according to Ventura, recognizes the seven boxing titles that Manny now holds after winning against Cotto. This bread has cheese pimiento in it. The Pan de Pacquiao is plain bread and has the look of an oversized burger bun.
 
In the almost four weeks since Pacquiao took his seventh boxing title from Cotto, the three kinds of bread that carry his name have become conversation pieces at Ventura's bakery in the City of National City where Filipinos comprised 20 percent of the population.
 
The Pacquiao breads found easy acceptance from even among non-Filipinos, which, Ventura says, is a testament to the popularity of Manny Pacquiao.
 
That is, of course, one of the two major reasons. The other is that the Pacquiao breads have that distinctive taste that pleases the palate. At an affordable price too.
 
Customers from as far as Connecticut, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Florida, Las Vegas, Dublin (Ireland) and Toronto (Canada) are among those who consistently placed orders for their own consumption and as a gift to their relatives and close friends, Ventura said.
 
The Original Richard's Bakery is located at 3400 E. Eighth St., Suite 114, National City, CA. 91950 and can be reached at 619.472.1530 or at richardsbakery@yahoo.com.

(Marquez is a member of the Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) and Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA))